What are the symptoms and signs of toxoplasmosis?
Toxoplasmosis is seldom diagnosed or reported because most patients have no signs or symptoms of the disease. Some short-term effects of toxoplasmosis may include fever, muscle pain, sore throat, headache, swollen lymph nodes and an enlarged spleen. Unless tests are carried out to confirm a Toxoplasma infection, these symptoms can be taken for “flu”. The long-term or chronic effects of the infection result when the cysts spread to the brain and muscle cells. The cysts, which can stay in the body as long as the person lives, can rupture and cause severe illness. Another form of the disease can also affect the eyes leading to partial loss of sight or to blindness in one or both eyes. Although toxoplasmosis can affect any organ in the body, the lymph nodes, skeletal and heart muscles, and the brain are most commonly involved. How long does it take to develop toxoplasmosis? The time between contact with the infected source and the development of the disease is not known. In one outbreak ca
